Liam Payne, who died last month at the age of 31, remained on close terms with the mother of his child, Cheryl - but knew full well just how unusual their first encounter was.
One Direction star Liam was just 14 years old when he entered The X Factor audition room in 2008, but his talent was already clear to see. The Wolverhampton teen won over judges with his silky smooth rendition of Frank Sinatra’s Fly Me To The Moon, with the formidable panel made up of Simon Cowell, Dannii Minogue, Louis Walsh - and a certain Cheryl Tweedy.
Already, Liam was showing signs of the charismatic boyband member he would one day become - even giving Girls Aloud star Cheryl a cheeky wink mid-performance. At that time, popstar Cheryl had just started dating footballer Ashley Cole, who would propose to her the following year.
The Geordie singer was just 24 years old but had already made a name for herself in one of the biggest girl bands of all time. Little did she know then that she was looking at a fellow future icon, and the father of her child.
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ITV2)After watching a video of that now first meeting during a May 2020 interview with Esquire, Liam said: "Let's address the elephant in the room. Obviously, the future mother of my son is sitting in that chair. This is now an episode of How I Met Your Mother, so that's enough of that I think."
Cheryl was impressed with young Liam's performance, telling him: "I like you. I think you're really cute. I think you've got charisma. You give us that little chinky wink." With three 'yeses' under his belt, an ecstatic Liam could be seen celebrating with his delighted family, including proud parents Geoff and Karen.
Although Liam was ultimately eliminated at the judges' houses stage, he didn't give up on his dreams of stardom, returning to the audition room two years later. This time around, determined Liam reached the boot camp stage, where he was put into a ground with Louis Tomlinson, Zayn Malik, Harry Styles and Niall Horan. The band name, which would one day be screamed in stadiums across the world, was One Direction.
Although the boys didn't win the competition, finishing in third place, they went on to become one of the most successful boybands in British history, with a fandom comparable to that of The Beatles.
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Getty Images Europe)As for Cheryl, she and Liam began dating in 2016, welcoming their son Bear to the world in 2017. Although they were only together for a couple of years, parting ways amicably shortly after Bear's first birthday, their relationship was the subject of great public interest. They also maintained a close friendship, making sure to parent Bear as a team even after going their separate ways.
On October 16, Liam tragically fell to his death from the third-floor balcony of his Buenos Aires hotel room. Toxicology tests have since found traces of alcohol, cocaine and an antidepressant in his system.
At the time of Liam's fatal fall, model and influencer girlfriend Kate Cassidy had already returned home to Florida, having apparently tired of the five-day trip that had 'turned into two weeks'. On October 12, just four days before Liam's death, Kate told her TikTok followers: "I was so ready to leave. Love South America, but I hate staying in one place for too long."
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